It was the fight few wanted yet which drew close to 30,000 people to this drenched part of east London. In one corner, a fallen idol, in the other, the brooding 'crazy man' who lives in Finchley, two fighters brought together by a senseless brawl in Munich five months ago. Ultimately it was the former who prevailed, David Haye knocking out Dereck Chisora in five rounds with a display so blistering that it was hard to see how he will be stopped from challenging for a world title all over again.

Vitali Klitschko, the WBC champion, and the man Haye challenged to a contest minutes after he had twice left Chisora splayed on the canvas here, cannot fail to have taken notice of how the 31-year-old performed a little over a year since Haye was beaten by the Ukrainian's younger brother, Wladimir, on an equally rain-soaked night in Hamburg.

That fight was meant to be Haye's defining moment, the night he became a unified heavyweight champion and, in the process, an icon of British boxing. Instead he was outthought and outfought and, having lost his WBA title to Wladimir Klitschko, reduced rather pathetically to blaming the defeat on a broken toe.

This fight, then, was about redemption for Haye, and although it came about in distasteful circumstances, the inevitable follow-up to his and Chisora's scrap at a press conference following the latter's defeat by Vitali Klitschko at Munich's Olympiahalle on 18 February, it will have had a restorative effect for the former cruiserweight, who has now won 26 out of 28 bouts across two division, knocking out his opponent on 24 of those occasions.

The end when it came was as awesome as it was sudden. Having, as promised, come out fast at the opening bell, Haye found himself backing up Chisora, the heavier man by 37lbs and a stalking menace behind his trademark high guard. Having survived Haye's early pressure, the 28-year-old got on top of his opponent and landed with a swinging left early in the second round. Haye quickly responded with a neat combination and a straight right but little damage was done, as was the case again when the Bermondsey man landed with a stinging right early in the third round. Soon after, Chisora landed with a left hook which left Haye staggering backwards.

The fourth round saw a wild exchange of blows and Haye, for the first time, pinning his rival back onto the ropes, but again Chisora survived. Then, however, came the brutal, brilliant conclusion. Having failed to make a dent with a powerful right hand, Haye went on the hunt and landed a fierce left-hook followed by a strong right which put Chisora down for the first time in the contest. Chisora staggered up but was then met by a remorseless flurry of shots which again ended with a right and this time there was no coming back. Chisora was beaten with a second of the round remaining.

Amid the celebrations, held in front of a strange mix of celebrities that included Andy Murray, Danny Cipriani, Dynamo the magician and Katie Price, Haye was magnanimous enough to praise Chisora's durability and what he described as "one of the best chins" he has faced. There was no doubt, however, that the better man won, Haye's technical class and bewilderingly fast hands ultimately too much for a bigger but more limited man. Haye won on each of the three judges' scorecards: 39-37, 40-36, 39-37.

The aim now is to challenge for the world title again and there was the bizarre sight in the post-fight press conference here of Manuel Charr, the undefeated German whom Vitali Klitschko is scheduled to face in Moscow in September, stepping up to the top table and challenging Haye to a fight once he, by his own estimation, has defeated the Ukrainian.

That remains an unlikely outcome, so Vitali remains the man in Haye's sights, but Vitali has made few noises of wanting to face the former WBA champion and, if rumours are to be believed, may retire after the Charr bout in order to focus on being elected to the Ukrainian parliament. Meanwhile Wladimir, who recently completed a sixth-round stoppage of the American Tony Thompson, has no interest in a rematch with Haye, according to his manager Bernd Bönte.

For Chisora, there seems little way back to the big time after this fourth defeat in succession, although a fight with David Price, the recently crowned British and Commonwealth champion, could be a possibility after the towering, explosive 29-year-old stated his desire prior to this fight to face the eventual loser.

For that contest to take place, however, Chisora may have to regain his licence from the British Boxing Board of Control, which sanctioned the Zimbabwe-born fighter in the aftermath of the brawl in Munich and for his actions prior to his defeat by Klitschko, when he slapped Vitali in the weigh-in and spat in Wladimir's face's prior to the opening bell in Germany.

He could, of course, simply turn to the Luxembourg Boxing Federation, which sanctioned this contest after the BBBC refused to. The move only added to the distaste surrounding this contest but after such an enthralling and sporting contest, officials from the 90-year-old organisation will surely be feeling pleased with themselves and keen to fulfil their ambition of sanctioning a second fight on British soil.

The real winner, though was, Haye. A year after he was defeated, shorn of his world heavyweight title, and reduced to something of a joke figure, the Hayemaker is back – and in the mood to do battle a Klitschko brother all over again.